Aggie chooses to stand by Ed
CORRIE STAR LORNA LAIDLAW TELLS US WHY HER LOYAL CHARACTER AGGIE IS STANDING BY HER MAN…
When the Bailey clan first rocked up on Coronation Street, appearing to be the perfect family, we knew there had to be more to them than meets the eye. So after the truth about Edison’s gambling debts was finally revealed, we weren’t at all surprised that he had such a costly skeleton in his closet!
His wife Aggie was stunned, though, having been led to believe that it was their eldest son Michael who was responsible for their cash-flow crisis. Which raises the question – why hasn’t she given her lying hubby the elbow over his awful actions?
“What me and Trevor [Michael Georges, who plays Ed] have tried to do is set up how in love they are, and how much they love their kids,” explains
Corrie star Lorna Laidlaw, who plays angry wife Aggie. “Once you’ve got that right, you can see why she would go back to him. We’ve tried really hard to make viewers see how they work together, how funny they are, and the cuddling and kissing. I thought it was really important to show that – even though when I first read the scripts I thought, ‘kick him out!’”
Aggie may have opted to stand by her man, but that doesn’t mean she’s forgiven him by any means. And Lorna tells us that Ed’s reckless behaviour will cast a shadow over their marriage for quite some time to come.
“I think she’d be silly if she didn’t have that constant fear,” she admits.
“It would be crazy if she didn’t take his credit cards off him! He runs a business, and this is the third time he’s got himself into this mess. Aggie’s had to get another job to pay for everything, so she’s working two at the moment.”
The Bailey home may not be a happy one on screen, but in real life, there’s a lot of love between Lorna, screen hubby
Trevor, and pretend sons Ryan Russell (Michael) and Nathan Graham (James).
“They’re delicious!” Lorna grins.
“The boys are close to my own sons’ ages. And I knew Trevor because we did the musical Buddy together about 26 years ago, and we’d not seen each other since! So it was really funny when we went to the audition and both got the job. We’re all getting on really well, and it’s come really naturally.”
Lorna was already an Inside Soap favourite after playing Doctors stalwart Mrs Tembe for eight years. But despite being a veteran of the soap world, the actress admits that joining Corrie was a completely different experience.
“It was really scary, as Corrie is such a massive show compared to Doctors,” she admits. “It’s an institution. You walk on set and you can’t believe it – you’re in the Rovers! Then you’re in Ken Barlow’s house – it’s constant. Also, I had to remind myself not to go into an African accent, which was my default after playing Mrs Tembe for eight years!”
Eight years is a long time to have been in a soap, yet Lorna tells us that she’s not always recognised by fans when she’s out and about – thanks to her real-life look being very different to her on-screen image.
“The fans went mad when they realised that Mrs Tembe off Doctors is on
Corrie now,” she tells us. “Apparently it was trending – I don’t even know what that means! But I must say, the wig has been a godsend. I’ve just been stood at the back gate of Corrie and someone has gone up to one of the other actors to ask for an autograph, but didn’t ask me!”
Whether the viewers recognise her or not, Lorna’s clearly already at home in her new role. And she reckons that some things are just meant to be…
“I’ll tell you who wants to come to the set – my mum,” she grins. “She’s so happy! There are loads of things that, when I got this job, made me go, ‘Oh my God!’ Agatha is my aunt’s middle name, my on-screen husband’s last name is George, which is my dad’s name. My on-screen son is played by Nathan, and my real son’s name is Nathaniel. There are loads of little things that made me go, ‘The universe is looking after you, girlfriend!’”